One of our dedicated foster care providers sent in this harrowing story about the rescue of a neglected puppy and his owners.
On Saturday evening, Denise arrived home to a commotion in the alley behind her home. Her new neighbour was putting his 1 year old male pit bull in his yard. The man was distraught as the dog had jumped out of his car window (while the car was moving) and attacked another neighbour’s cat. The owners of the poor cat victim, Shadow, were nearly hysterical . Denise raced them all off to the vet, with the pit bull owner offering to pay the bill. Shadow and her family are ok, but traumatized.
That night and all throughout the next day, Denise and her neighbours heard howling and whining and bodies hitting walls in the house where the pit bulls reside, and realized that no-one was home. The owners had taken off with the offending dog.
There were 2 other pit bull puppies in the family and she realized that they were left alone in the house in extreme heat with no air conditioning. At 4:00 pm on Sunday afternoon Denise called Animal Protection to report that the puppies had been alone since 6 p.m. Saturday. Normally the minimum is 24 hours without care, but with some persuasion, along with several other calls from neighbours, Denise convinced the Animal Protection officer that the puppies were in distress and creating a disturbance in the neighbourhood.
It turned out that the tenants were in jail, and the offending pit bull and another puppy were already at the RHS, leaving 1 puppy alone in the house. Animal Protection arrived and assessed the situation, observing from a window that the puppy was locked in the kitchen and had diarrhea. The temperature was 32 degrees and the house was not air conditioned. The Animal Protection officer assessed the situation but was unsure how to proceed as the situation was a bit unusual. After some consultations, the Regina Police Service was contacted. The Animal Protection Officer went to great lengths to get info on the tenants to no avail, trying to determine where the puppy owners were being held, and how the home could be accessed.
Several hours later, 2 police officers arrived and access the home quickly. They released the puppy to the Animal Protection. At this point the puppy had been locked in the house 27 hours. The rescue was a success, with a very dehydrated puppy who was rescued from a very hot house. All he could do was kiss everyone in gratitude. What a forgiving little soul!
Despite some communication challenges, some uncooperative people at times, and a very busy police service due to the Labour day Rider game, all these people collaborated and an animal life was saved.
The good news is that Shadow the cat is recuperating and has ventured out again on her leash . She was rescued herself by Denise 3 years ago off the street, and is a fighter, not to mention a very lucky black cat to survive a pit bull attack.
The tenants showed up at the house to get the puppy and were surprised to find it gone. They were perplexed when Denise advised them that the puppy would not have survived another day in the house and that Animal Protection had taken him. Perhaps 2 days in a hot house with no food, water or bathroom facilities would have helped them to understand the dire situation they had left the puppy in!
This story turned out well, but Animal Protection and the Humane Society are limited in what they can do when faced with these types of situations. There is not enough funding (or other resources) to help all the animals in need in our city. Please support your local animal rescue groups and shelters, and consider letting your city councilor know that animal welfare is an important issue to you. In the words of anthropologist Margaret Mead "never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has!"
Thanks to Denise for sharing this story. We are glad that Shadow the cat is ok, and that the puppies are now receiving care at the Humane Society.
Alanna
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